Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Desert Botanical Garden

We spent one morning at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and saw an amazing array of cacti, shrubs and trees. If we go back next year, and I sure hope we do, I'll need to find a field guide to help identify all of these wonderful plants. I saw several cactus wrens in this area- a life bird, but no pictures of them.
Such unusual blooms.
Again, wonderful, strange flowers.

This cactus actually looked dead, brown and dried, but was in bloom!

One of my favorites- wish I knew this cactus' name.

I think this is a Phainopepla without its crest showing. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I did see several Phainopepla later in the week with a good positive id so I do get to add it to my life list! Hoorah!
This was the only day that the heat (95) got to me. My fault as I didn't wear a hat. We stopped at the little outdoor restaurant in the garden for lunch and drinks. Art and I had a fabulous southwestern chicken wrap with fresh guacamole, sweet corn and black beans with lime juice. Yummm. We washed it down with prickly pear iced tea. The tea was refreshing but tasted a little like bananas.
Posted by Picasa

6 comments:

Mary said...

Prickly pear tea tasted like bananas? Everything is different in Arizona, I guess.

Your plant photos are outstanding, Lynne and I really enjoyed the 4th one of the orange flower. It must have been a new discovery every minute!

Can't help with the bird ID but you know where I'm coming from...

Cathy said...

Ohhh, you lucky ducky! The cactus weren't blooming like that at all when I was there in March. But, neither was the 95 degrees. Yeah, yeah - I know - it's a 'dry' heat.

I love that outside restaurant and the prickly pear ice tea.

(Actually - 95' sounds pretty good right now:0)

Susan Gets Native said...

I wouldn't know a Phainopepla from a Pepcid AC.
Cool cacti!

Jayne said...

LOL Susan... I was thinking the same thing... a Phain-what?

Beautiful photos of the cacti!

Larry said...

great photos! If I was a bird, I would like to live in the nesthole seen in the top photo.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Mary- there were LOTS of new discoveries for me. Most everything was starkly different from what I know in Minnesota.

Cathy- Everything seemed to be in bloom! I'd never seen so many different looking blooms too. I really loved the dry air.

Susan- you kill me! LOL!! I told Art you didn't know the difference between a phainopepla and a pepcid ac - it really cracked him up!!

Jayne- I'd never heard of a phainopepla until I got a birds of AZ book. They look like a black cardinal.

Larry- That nesthole is where I saw my first cactus wren. What a pretty bird- wish I got a picture...